Congratulations! The fact that you have started reading this book means that you are interested in learning more about the web publishing system Drupal. Drupal is a powerful, flexible, easy-to-manage, and inspiring tool. You will have many fun and rewarding experiences ahead of you. And if you use Drupal right, the administrators and visitors of the sites you build will also have fun and rewarding experiences.
When starting to learn Drupal it might seem like there are an infinite number of things that you can learn. And as far as I know this might actually be true. During the years I've worked with Drupal I have constantly learned new things, and yet I still have never gotten the feeling that I have learned it all.
But over the years I have also become more and more convinced that there is a way to start learning Drupal that is better than most (if not all). When you start learning Drupal I think it is important to begin by learning how to use several important modules. If you are not skilled in using these crucial modules you will reinvent the wheel, and miss many of the advantages that Drupal's framework offers. If you learn to master these modules, you will have the tools to quickly and efficiently build the structure for practically all types of websites. You will also be equipped to deepen your knowledge in web development with Drupal, whether you want to code, build interfaces, lead projects, or specialize in some other way.
This book covers the core skills you need to learn as a new Drupal developer (and a bit more). It is by no means a complete description of everything you need or can use, but the book is designed to give you a solid foundation to continue to learn.
I hope you will have as much fun as I did when I started to learn Drupal, and I look forward to learning from the unique knowledge you will bring into the Drupal community.
Welcome.
//Johan Falk
The initial version of this section of the Community Documentation came from the book Drupal 7: The Essentials, courtesy of NodeOne and Johan Falk.
